P is for Power Meter in our Running ABC's

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We have come a long way and today we have gotten to the letter P. Even though it is new tech, I thought it would be cool to discuss Running Power Meters.

If you have done a bit of cycling before, you are probably familiar with the concept of a power meter. They have been around and widely used in cycling for a while now but have recently been introduced into running.

For starters what is the measurement of power anyway? Running power, measured in watts is the sum of:

• The power required to overcome running resistance(Foot strike, etc)
• Air resistance
• Climbing resistance
  In simplest terms, running power is the measure of how much work you are doing and how fast you're doing it.

Power Meters For Runners

The two main players in the running power meter market vary with the way they measure your power output. For the company Stryd(https://www.stryd.com/), they use a chest strap like a heart rate monitor. While RPM2(https://www.rpm2.com/index.php?route=common/home) use a foot pod that hits inside your shoe. From what I have read, the Stryd meter works with the bodies center of gravity to workout the force you are putting out through your bodies motion. The RPM2 measures the force you are putting through the sole of your shoe and through your foot strike.

What Are The Benefits To Using A Running Power Meter

In theory there are a few benefits that would come with a running power meter including:

• Improved Running Economy - As with a product like the Stryd, your running power would change depending on the efficiency of your running. Using this as a training aid you would hope that it would turn this improved efficiency into habit.
• Measure Your Fitness - This would enable you to get metrics like Functional Training Power and VO2Max without the need of a lab.
• Measure Your Exact Effort For Your Workout - As you are measuring more data, the actual information being provided should give you a more accurate measure of the effort you are putting out in your training and racing.
• Maintain Optimal Race Pace - If you have been training with the tool, you would then be able to calculate your optimal racing power output to then hopefully race to that power output for the race.

Summing It All Up

So this technology is still very new and coaches are still getting their heads around how to incorporate this into schedules. I have only really come in contact with the Stryd and am not really sold on the technology and how it can be successfully implemented. Having said that, I still believe the same with cycling power meters as I have used them as well and have not really see great results when training to power.

On that note though, I would love to see some more research and hear some more about the training and technology. I still have not heard many success stories on using the technology to really recommend the use at this time. Hopefully time will tell.

If you missed any of the previous five posts, you can see them at the following link:
https://steemit.com/running/@run.vince.run/in-the-running-abc-s-k-is-for-kenya
https://steemit.com/running/@run.vince.run/for-the-running-abc-s-l-is-for-lactic-acid
https://steemit.com/running/@run.vince.run/in-our-running-abc-s-m-is-for-marathon
https://steemit.com/running/@run.vince.run/n-is-for-negative-split-in-the-running-abc-s
https://steemit.com/running/@run.vince.run/in-our-running-abc-s-o-is-for-overstriding

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